PHAC 4001 Lecture Notes - Lecture 17: Fentanyl, Insomnia, Barbiturate
12 May 2021
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Phac 4001 lecture 17 february 26, 2021 drugs of abuse ii. How do drugs of abuse work in the brain: as general rule all addictive drugs activate the mesolimbic dopaminergic system - Neuropharmacologic classification of addictive drugs by primary target (see text and table. Da, dopamine; gaba, -aminobutyric acid; ghb, -hydroxybutyric acid; gpcrs, g protein-coupled receptors; thc, 9- tetrahydrocannabinol. Thc, the psychoactive component of cannabis, interacts with specific cannabinoid receptors, which are a part of the dopamine reward pathway on the gabaergic interneurons. Gabaergic interneurons can influence the further activity and release of dopamine (disinhibition of dopamine release) to increase dopamine in the nucleus accumbens. The cannabinoids are a large group of compounds that exists in the cannabis plant in different quantities. The other compounds, aside from having potential psychoactivity, can have medicinal properties (ie. useful for inflammation). Cannabinoid receptors are highly enriched within the brain.
